Spaces: Bungalow now beacon for art

Updated 12:24 pm, Sunday, February 16, 2014

Arredondo selected a khaki color for the exterior and accented the trim in gold and white. He designed the details on the columns.

Arredondo selected a khaki color for the exterior and accented the trim in gold and white. He designed the details on the columns.

Photo: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

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Richard Arredondo's Beacon Hill home reflects his love for art and design. Below a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe (top left) are pieces by local artists.

Richard Arredondo's Beacon Hill home reflects his love for art and design. Below a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe (top left) are pieces by local artists.

Photo: Photos By Danny Warner / For The Express-News

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A papier-mâché statue is flanked by candles in the living room.

A papier-mâché statue is flanked by candles in the living room.

Photo: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

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A divider provides kitchen storage on one side, art display on the other.

A divider provides kitchen storage on one side, art display on the other.

Photo: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

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A short flight of stairs rises from the bedroom to a loft carved out of attic space.

A short flight of stairs rises from the bedroom to a loft carved out of attic space.

Photo: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

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Art by Arredondo shares the bathroom walls with the work of other local artists.

Art by Arredondo shares the bathroom walls with the work of other local artists.

Photo: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

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A Buddha statue is displayed in the corner of the dining area.

A Buddha statue is displayed in the corner of the dining area.

Photo: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

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The previous owner, architect Alex Caragonne, designed the altarlike structure at the edge of the living/dining room. Arredondo mounted a George O. Jackson photograph on the temple wall and placed candles below it. less

The previous owner, architect Alex Caragonne, designed the altarlike structure at the edge of the living/dining room. Arredondo mounted a George O. Jackson photograph on the temple wall and placed candles ... more

Photo: DANNY WARNER, For The Express-News

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The top of a grandfather clock, a garage sale find, was transformed by Richard Arredondo into a shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pieces by local artists are arranged on the wall below the shrine in his studio.

The top of a grandfather clock, a garage sale find, was transformed by Richard Arredondo into a shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pieces by local artists are arranged on the wall below the shrine in his studio.

Photo: DANNY WARNER, For The Express-News

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Religious art is displayed in a corner of the living room in the Beacon Hill bungalow of artist Richard Arredondo.

Religious art is displayed in a corner of the living room in the Beacon Hill bungalow of artist Richard Arredondo.

Photo: DANNY WARNER, For The Express-News

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Arredondo repurposed a birdcage as a shrine for a religious statue.

Arredondo repurposed a birdcage as a shrine for a religious statue.

Photo: DANNY WARNER, For The Express-News

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Spaces: Bungalow now beacon for art

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SAN ANTONIO — Richard Arredondo thought something was wrong with the gray house down the street when the “For Sale” sign languished in front of it for years.

His landlords, knowing he wanted a home of his own, suggested he look at the 1920s-era Beacon Hill bungalow. The house, they said, would fit him as an artist.

Arredondo quickly discovered unique features of the house, starting with the large architecturally inspired room divider that dominates the living/dining area. A lone bedroom with a loft carved out of attic space also captured his attention.

Arredondo, a communication/design professor at San Antonio College, is among the artists participating in the seventh annual On and Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour Saturday and Feb. 23. Artists in Alta Vista, Beacon Hill, Jefferson, Keystone, Los Angeles Heights, Monticello Park and Woodlawn Lake neighborhoods open their studios for the tour, organized by Bihl Haus Arts.

The house was transformed around 1980, about a decade before Arredondo bought it, by Alex Caragonne, one of the architects who designed the West Side's Plaza Guadalupe.

The columned structure that dominates the main room stands about 8 feet high and 4 feet wide. It was built with a dual purpose, said Caragonne's wife, Margie Shackelford. It began as a room divider, hence the storage space on the side facing the kitchen. But Caragonne wanted a place to display a special acquisition, a painting by San Ygnacio artist Michael Tracy. He designed the divider around the painting, she said.

For Arredondo, it's also a place to display art. Currently on exhibit is a George O. Jackson photograph of a woman praying at Lenten service in Chiapas. He won the artwork in a raffle. A row of candles sits beneath the painting.

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In redesigning the house, Caragonne removed walls and relocated the front door. Now, rather than opening into the living room, the entry door opens into Arredondo's office and graphic design studio, the former second bedroom. The studio is open to the living/dining room, a single room that originally was partitioned by a wall.

The bedroom also got a space-giving makeover. The renovation incorporated the sunroom and a portion of the attic. Arredondo stores art material in the loft area of the bedroom

“I didn't have to do anything except repaint,” he said. He brought color into the house, covering austere gray walls with upbeat shades of lilac, gold and pumpkin.

The house and its art collections reflect Arredondo's love of Spanish and Mexican cultures of his background, his Catholic bonds and spirituality. His art is intermingled with the works of friends and associates, a Who's Who of the San Antonio art scene.

He said he finds smaller art pieces more affordable and easily grouped for display.

Possessing an eye that constantly redesigns, Arredondo frequently rearranges art pieces found in the four main rooms of his home. He said the art imbues positivity.

“Everywhere I look is beauty,” he said. “I just like being around beauty and design. I tell my students, 'The world would be very chaotic if it weren't for design,' and many people don't realize that. Everything you're wearing, your life is stabilized by design, and I like the enhancement of even more design, for beauty.”

More Information

Studio tour

What: About 80 artists in seven neighborhoods in the Fredericksburg Road area will open studios and galleries for the seventh annual On and Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour. The event includes demonstrations by artists and performances by actors from area theaters.

When: The self-guided tour will run from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Feb. 23.

Cost: The tour catalog costs $5 as a mobile phone app or $10 for an advance print copy and includes admission for two to all tour events. During the tour, catalogs will cost $15.